Vending machine



VENDING MACHINE Filed Feb. 28. 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 z4 W zz /%Z$ WWW 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 B. L. FRY

VENDING MACHINE July 5, 1932.

Filed Feb. 28, 1930 Patented July 5, 1932 OFFICE BENJAMIN L. FRY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI VENDING MACHINE Application 'filed February 28, 1930. Serial No. 432,207.

The present invention relates to vending machines of that type in which the articles to be vended are arranged in vertical columns and a closure is provided for the front of each column which is operated through coin-controlled mechanism to move downwardly step by step and successively expose-the articles to permit their withdrawal, an example of such a machine being disclosed in an application filed by me November 18, 1929, Serial No. 408,082. One object of the present invention is to provide means whereby an article which is exposed for delivery will be slightly projected from the compartment in-which it is placed and access to a subj acent compartment will be prevented. Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby theback of the casing will be securely closed after the columns have been filled and access to the columns by unauthorized persons from the rear will be prevented, and another object of the invention is to provide means whereby ventilation of the cabinet will be attained and the articles to be vended will be maintained in a fresh condition. Other objects will ap-' pear incidentally in the course of the following description, and the invention resides in certain novel-features which will be particularly defined in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a View, partly in end elevation and partly in vertical section, of a vending machine embodying the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a view, partly in top plan and partly in horizontal section, on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail perspective View of a portion of the device viewing the same from the front, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail section on the line 4:4 of Fig. 1.

The cabinet or casing of the machine may be given any desired form and ornamented in approved manner andits lower portion is extended forwardly beyond its upper portion to provide a shelf 1 within which the coin slots 2 are located, and at the front of the coin slots display compartments 3 are provided, these display compartments being no intended to'receive samples of the articles arranged in the respective columns with which the display compartments are alined.

The upper portion ofthe cabinet is constructed with posts 4' arranged at distances apart corresponding to the widths of the columns of article-holding compartmentsand disposed at the rear of the several posts are vertical walls 5 which are arranged in pairs to define columns of compartments, as will be understood upon reference to Figs. 2 and 3. Secured to and extending between the paired walls are shelves 6 which are arranged through the entire height of the respective columns and spaced apart distances corre sponding to the thicknesses of the articlesto be vended, it being intended that one article shall be disposed upon each shelf. As shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 3, the shelves are inclined downwardly toward the front of the machine so that an article placed upon the shelf will slide forwardly so that it may be easily removed when the front of the compartment is opened. At the front of each com partment is a vertically disposed closure 7 which is slidably engaged with the front edges,

of the side walls of the compartment, and the parts are so proportioned that the edges of the closure and of the walls will be located back of the respective posts 4, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The closure is given a step by step.

downward movement upon manipulation of coin-controlled mechanism, which is indicated generally at 8 in Fig. 2 and which need not be further referred to herein as the par ticular type of the operating mechanism is not essential tothe present invention and one embodiment of such a mechanism has been fully disclosed in my aforesaid application. At the upper end of each closure 7 is secured a bracket 9 which extends the full width of the closure and projects forwardly therefrom to constitute a shelf upon which the frontend of a delivered article may rest and at the eX- treme front edge of the bracket is an upstanding lip or lug 10 which .constitutes a stop to prevent the released article from sliding beyond the shelf and dropping to the fioor of the display room. This bracket also serves as a handle or finger-piece by which the closure may be raised to cover the fronts of all the compartments in a column after the contents of the column have all been sold. The inclination of the shelves together with the provision of the shelf-like bracket is an important feature of the present invention. Many packages of candy, for instance, are very thin and it has been found that if the shelves are disposed horizontally evilminded persons, after depositing a coin and exposing one compartment to obtain delivery of the article therein, could force an entrance past the front edge of the exposed shelf to the article on the next subjacent shelf so that the article could be extracted between the exposed shelf and the upper edge of the closure. This trick could not be accomplished with reasonably thick articles but with thin articles, such as are very commonly vended in these machines, a very appreciable loss to the merchant has been found to be due to the possibility of such manipulations. With the present construction, the front end of the subjacent shelf is disposed at such a distance below the upper end of the closure that it cannot be easily reached and the inclination of the shelf also makes it necessary to turn the article to a greater angle in order that it may be extracted over the edge of the closure and the necessity for turning it to this greater angle frustrates the attempt to rob the machine. The shelf-like bracket with its upstanding stop will be disposed after each manipulation of the closure immediately at the front end of the shelf from which the sold article is to be removed and said article will then gravitate from the compartment onto the shelf-like bracket and its front end will thereby be so disposed that it may be easily grasped by the customer, as will be fully understood upon reference to Figs. 1 and 3. It will also be noted, particularly upon reference to 1, that the bracket 9 located slightly below the extreme upper end of the closure so that the exposed shelf will abut the end of the closure and, therefore, resist the entrance of a pry or other implement to the subjacent compartment.

The cabinet is closed at front and back and at both ends through its lower portion 7 although the lower front is preferably provided with doors which may be opened by the person in charge of the vending machine when the deposited coins are to be removed. The upper portion of the cabinet is provided at the back with a vertically sliding door 11 which will permit access to the several columns for filling the same when it is lowered and preferably two doors will be provided for covering the entire width of the cabinet, as illustrated, but

it will, of course, be understood that, if preferred, a separate door for each column or a single door for the entire back may be employed. The door is spaced rearwardly from o the series of columns to provide an open area 12 through which fresh air may readily circulate to prevent the merchandise provided in the columns from drying and becoming stale and undesirable. To further facilitate and accelerate the circulation of fresh air through this area 12, openings 13 are formed in the bottom of the cabinet so that the colder air adjacent the floor of the room may readily rise through the cabinet at the rear of the several columns and escape at the top thereof through the compartments which may have been opened. This circulation of air will prevent the accumulation of warm air in the columns to dry out the articles arranged therein. The side walls of the columns being free of the doors 11, braces 15 are extended between the end walls of the cabinet and secured to the outer sides of the side walls 5 by brackets '16 so that the perpendicularity of the side walls will be maintained and the articles placed in the several compartments will be held against lateral movement and consequent possible loss. It will be understood that the bracing bars 15 are disposed adjacent the top and bottom of the columns and may, in some instances, be provided at intermediate points in the heights of the columns.

The door 11 is mounted to slide in guides 17 provided in the rear corner and central posts of the cabinet and at its upper end is provided with a flange or projection 18 which constitutes a handle whereby the door may be raised after it has been lowered. Cross braces 20, 20, secured upon the doors, resist buckling or warping of the same.

The top of the cabinet is closed by a roof member 22 so that access cannot be had to the several columns through the top of the same and on the under side of said roof member is provided a lug or keeper 23 which may be engaged by a hook 24; mounted on the door so that the door may be locked in its upper closed position. This hook 24 is carried by the barrel of a cylinder lock 25 which is mounted in the door near the upper edge of the same and may be of any known or approved construction, the key to the lock being, of course, kept in the possession of the person having charge of the machine. When the several compartments have been filled with articles to be vended, the door is raised: and the hook 24 engaged with the keeper, as clearly shown in Fig. 4, so that the hook and the keeper will lock the door in its raised position and the door cannot be lowered until the key is again inserted in the lock. Across the front of the cabinet, at the roof, is a panel 26 upon which an announcement may be displayed and which extends down to the uppermost shelf so that when a closure 7 is fully raised the front of the corresponding column will be completely covered.

It will be understood that, when the machine is arranged for selling merchandise,

lie

the fronts of all the columns are closed by having the slidable closures 7 raised to the upper ends of the respective columns, and in order to permit a closure to move downward- 1y, it is necessary to insert a coin of the proper denomination and then manipulate the operatinpj mechanism, whereupon the door will be given a downward movement equal to the distance between adjacent shelves and then again locked in place so that at each manipulation the front end of one compartment will be exposed to permit the article placed therein to be removed. When all the articles in any one column have been sold, it will, of course, be necessary to refill said column, and to permit the refilling the closure 7 must be returned to its uppermost position. The re fillingis then accomplished through the back of the cabinet in an obvious manner. The present improvements effectually prevent the abstraction of more than one article upon the deposit of a single coin and also facilitate the filling of the machine when the merchandise arranged therein has all been sold while, by reason of the ventilation provided, the articles are kept fresh for an appreciable period which is ordinarily suificiently prolonged to permit the sale of all the displayed articles before they lose their freshness. The structure is very simple and compact and inexpensive.

Having thus described the invention, I

claim:

1. In a vending machlne having vertical columns of article-receiving compartments and a vertically movable closure adapted to extend across the fronts of all the compartments in a column. a series of shelves form ing the bottoms of the respective compartments and inclining downwardly toward the front of the column. and a bracket secured upon the closure at the upper end of the same and projecting" forwardly therefrom to aline with the front edqte of the shelf forming the bottom of an uncovered compartment and provided with a stop to limit the downward movement of an article placed within said compartment.

2. A vending machine comprising" a 001- umn of downwardly and forwardly inclined shelves for supporting articles to be vended, a vertically movable closure adapted to extend across the fronts of all the shelves, and a projection on the closure at the upper end of the same to arrest outward movement of an article on an exposed inclined shelf and support the exposed end of said article.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

BENJAMIN L. FRY. [n 8.] 

